


the shape that i'm in now, your shape in the doorway

by volchitsae



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Beach, M/M, Selkies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:47:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23814064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/volchitsae/pseuds/volchitsae
Summary: The thrift store is packed with clothes; it takes some significant forearm strength to push the hangers apart and get a good look at each piece of clothing. Atsumu browses through a couple more racks until he nudges something soft with his foot. Crouching, he looks under the hems of the pants and sees the end of the sleeve of a fur coat. He grabs at it and tugs out a beautiful grey wool coat flattened between the dark wash distressed jeans. The lapels and sleeve cuffs are trimmed with sleet grey fur so delicate it almost looks like the animal it came from is still alive.For the first time since they’ve entered the store, the man at the till straightens up and looks alive instead of wanting to get out of here.--Atsumu finds a coat. He doesn't think he'd also find a husband.
Relationships: Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi
Comments: 17
Kudos: 358





	the shape that i'm in now, your shape in the doorway

Atsumu and Osamu stroll into the beachside thrift store before their lifeguard shift on a blisteringly hot Thursday in July. Atsumu likes the heat and the ocean breeze; plus, beach volleyball and a decent amount of pay for a summer job as a university student can’t go wrong. Atsumu pushes his sunglasses up onto his head to browse and snicker at Osamu holding up awful patterned swim trunks.

The store smells of dust and the salt of the ocean. Fans placed strategically whirr and hum, jostling the display of clothes and accessories. Atsumu looks at the man at the register perched on the stool out of the corner of his eye. He’s got his nose in a book, scowl dark and intimidating. His curls frizz wildly in the humidity and a bead of sweat slides past the two moles on his forehead into his eyebrow.

Ever since starting here, he and Osamu have worked up healthy tans; this guy is pale, wont to burn.

Osamu nudges him with a little smirk on his face, having caught Atsumu checking the cashier out. Atsumu rolls his eyes and plops a wide brimmed hat with a huge peacock feather sticking out of it onto Osamu’s head, and laughs when he takes it in stride to strike a pose in front of the dressing room mirror.

The thrift store is packed with clothes; it takes some significant forearm strength to push the hangers apart and get a good look at each piece of clothing. Atsumu browses through a couple more racks until he nudges something soft with his foot. Crouching, he looks under the hems of the pants and sees the end of the sleeve of a fur coat. He grabs at it and tugs out a beautiful grey wool coat flattened between the dark wash distressed jeans. The lapels and sleeve cuffs are trimmed with sleet grey fur so delicate it almost looks like the animal it came from is still alive.

For the first time since they’ve entered the store, the man at the till straightens up and looks alive instead of wanting to get out of here.

Atsumu holds up the coat. “This for sale?”

The man at the till blinks a few times to snap himself out of it. “No. It isn’t. Where did you get that from?”

Feeling somewhat like a kid that got caught doing something bad, Atsumu shrugs. “It was squished between the jeans,” he says. “No price tag – must mean it’s for free?”

He gets a kick to the back of his knee from Osamu. The cashier shakes his head and reaches out for the coat.

“It belongs to the storeowners. It was lost a long time ago.” Atsumu shrugs again and walks over to the register to pass the coat over.

“Glad it was found in all these clothes,” he says. “It’s real pretty.” He doesn’t see the cashier clutch the coat to his chest and stare intensely at him. “’Samu, our break is over, let’s go.”

Over the next few days Atsumu sometimes sees the man on the beach while he’s on patrol either walking about or settled under an umbrella, reading. Osamu keeps picking on Atsumu to talk to him but they’re on shift, so he can’t (shouldn’t). The other highlight of the week is a herd of seals deciding to come up onto shore to hang out for a few hours. He and Osamu spend some time roping the area off to keep people from trying to touch them. 

A few days later, the body of a seal washes up. Its pelt is gone, the flesh waterlogged, rotting. He and Osamu push it into a garbage bag and throw it in the dumpster and while doing so he makes eye contact with the cashier who’s leaning against a rack placed out on the boardwalk, dark eyes fixed on the bag.

At dusk one night, he’s locking up the shack that houses their equipment when Osamu taps him on the shoulder to turn around.

The man from the thrift store is walking towards them, having seemingly appeared from nowhere. He’s barefoot and not in his uniform; instead he’s wearing loose black pants and a grey button down open at the collar. The fabric is near translucent in the sunset. He holds the coat folded over one arm.

Osamu holds up a peace sign to both the man and Atsumu and heads down the boardwalk towards the seaside bed and breakfast they’re staying at for the summer. Atsumu feels the air between him and the man grow humid and thick like molasses as he gets closer, his ears going pink. He hasn’t seen the man from up close in a while and is reminded just how beautiful he is.

He clears his throat. “Uh, hi? Can I help ya, sir?”

The man tips his head and reaches out. “I’m Sakusa Kiyoomi. Thank you for finding and giving me back my coat.” Atsumu shakes his hand, bewildered.

“I’m Miya Atsumu. Uh, wasn’t a problem at all. Can I ask why you have it in the middle of July?” Sakusa laughs a little under his breath and starts walking towards the beach. Atsumu doesn’t realize he’s following until he speaks up again.

“It was stolen from me,” Sakusa says, staring out into the water. “I was drawn to that store for a reason – I didn’t think it would be because my coat ended up there.”

“Was it real important to ya? For a coat to draw you to a thrift store older than we are on a beach much older than we are?” Sakusa nods.

“I’ve had it since I was born. I didn’t think I’d ever see it again.”

“How long have you been lookin’ for it?” They’re headed towards the rocky border at the edge of the beach, the same place where the herd of seals were, where visitors aren’t allowed to go. Atsumu is about to bring it up before Sakusa speaks again.

“About a decade.” Atsumu balks.

“That long? Damn, that must be some coat. Worth a lot, I bet.” Sakusa smiles, hidden amusement in the corners of his mouth.

“Worth my life, I’d say. The old man and woman that own the store were very kind to take me in when I showed up here.”

“Showed up? How long have ya been here, on the beach?” Atsumu furrows his brow as he watches Sakusa climb up onto a rock and pat the space beside him. The waves rush into the shoreline, but Atsumu can still Sakusa’s low voice loud and clear.

Sakusa nods again. “About the same time, almost a decade. I didn’t feel the pull of the store and the coat until I wanted to leave for the city a few months back.”

“Take it from one city boy: it’s not all that great.” Sakusa laughs and shakes his head in agreement.

“It truly isn’t. My coat was poached from me there, and I ended up here without it. Again, I didn’t think it would show up here. I checked the racks all the time, growing up. But I’m glad it did.” He turns to look at Atsumu then, eyes glittering obsidian in the setting sun.

“I was afraid you’d want to purchase it especially because of my odd behaviour. It was kind of you to give it back, although I’ve heard the ‘no price tag, it must be free’ joke too often.”

Atsumu laughs. “M’ sorry,” he says. “Couldn’t let the opportunity pass by.”

Sakusa narrows his eyes playfully. “Is this what I’ll have to put up with in our marriage? I can’t say I’m looking forward to it.” He rummages in the pocket of the coat and pulls out a small ring box. He flips it open to reveal two silver rings that fit together as puzzle pieces.

Atsumu kind of forgets how to breathe.

“I picked it from the display at the store, so it isn’t much; I hope you accept,” Sakusa says, plucking one ring out and grasping Atsumu’s left hand. He looks up properly when Atsumu jumps at the touch.

“An engagement ring? Our _marriage_?” Atsumu can feel his face flushing red.

Sakusa blushes as well. It’s terribly endearing. “I figured that human customs were important, considering you’re human. I like the ring aspect, actually.”

Atsumu rears back. “What d’you mean by _human customs_? Are you –“ he stops, shakes his head to clear it. “Explain. Please.”

“I’m a selkie. Seal person. You returned my fur coat to me – that’s basically the marriage vows, for selkie folk.” Sakusa has the capacity to look embarrassed. “I thought you knew? With all the talk of coats?”

There’s no words to explain exactly the combination of confusion and attraction Atsumu feels right now. Seal person.

“I didn’t think selkie were _real_ , I seriously thought you were just really attached to that coat. You never said!” Atsumu says, gesturing wildly with one hand.

Sakusa scoffs. “I don’t go around telling just anyone ‘hey, what’s up, I’m a selkie, watch me turn into a seal’. You returned my coat to me, Atsumu.”

“Can you really turn into a seal?”

“You’re really ignoring my proposal – yes, I can turn into a seal.” Atsumu stares firmly at Sakusa without saying anything else. Sakusa sighs and swings the coat on, hopping back down to the sand to walk straight into the water.

When the water is at his waist, he plunges underneath.

A grey seal pushes itself up onto the shore. There are two more prominent spots on its face eerily similar to Sakusa’s moles.

Atsumu approaches the seal warily, although he knows that this is Sakusa. The man is nowhere to be found and should have drowned, if he wasn’t a _seal_. He kneels in the sand as the seal shuffles up to him.

“Sakusa?” he says, reaching out. The seal snuffles and pushes its head into Atsumu’s hand.

“Holy shit,” Atsumu breathes, and then bursts out into uncontrollable, hysterical laughter at this entire situation. He gets a job as a lifeguard on a beach and ends up getting a half seal half human _husband._ By _accident_.

He hasn’t noticed the seal has disappeared until he’s wiping tears from his face and he sees it wiggle back into the water. A wave crashes over it and it disappears from his vision.

Sakusa stands up as another wave rushes towards the shore, clothes dripping. The coat on his shoulders is completely dry.

Atsumu stops laughing and watches, a little in awe, while Sakusa moves towards him and extends a hand to help him up. His hand is slippery and when Atsumu falls back over from failing to grip it they both start laughing this time.

They get a hold of themselves when Sakusa starts shivering from being completely drenched. Atsumu reaches out to pull the wool coat tighter around his shoulders.

“How did you lose your coat?” he asks. He isn’t surprised to see Sakusa’s expression turn dark before he sighs.

“I was poached while in seal form, as a pup. I turned when they tried to skin me, and they stole the coat to sell off somewhere.”

“So the seal that washed up a few days ago – that herd – did you – did you _know_ them?” Sakusa’s face crumples slightly, the grief splintering across his skin like a crack in glass.

“Someone I knew when I was young. Not a selkie, full seal, but they and their herd check up on me from time to time.” Atsumu rubs Sakusa’s arms over the coat sleeves.

Sakusa takes out the ring box again, hands trembling from the cold.

“Atsumu, would you marry me?”

Atsumu closes his hand over Sakusa’s. “I’d like to get to know you a little better, to be honest. Human engagements take more than just returning a coat.” Sakusa chuckles, abashed.

“How long are you a lifeguard here for? Maybe you could use a seal on your team.” Sakusa arches an eyebrow at Atsumu, who launches into another laughing fit because he’s imagining a Baywatch intro with him, Osamu, and a seal. When he explains this to Sakusa all he gets is an exasperated shake of his head.

He’s gonna have a hell of a time explaining _this_ to Osamu.

* * *

At the end of the summer, a body washes up onto the shore early in the morning. The group of men who knew the dead man says they were out on a night walk along the beach until one of them disappeared. The police found the body hours later, mauled by some kind of animal bite. The men say it's karma for that seal he skinned a month ago.

Atsumu and Osamu get interviewed by the local police but don’t have much to info to give to them, having been in their beach hotel rooms sleeping through the night.

When the police leave the hotel, he and Sakusa head to the breakfast bar. Sakusa is usually sleepy and affectionate in the mornings; today, he is awake and silent while slicing his omelette up.

“Didja go for a walk last night?”

Sakusa nods.

“The shed wasn’t locked up, so I did it,” he says.

Atsumu hums over the rim of his coffee cup, a thumb stroking the ring on Sakusa’s hand, and says nothing.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr prompt: "'Oops, dropped your coat!' You cheerfully pick up the soft fur coat off the floor and carefully drape it back over the person’s chair. They stare at you with wide, stunned eyes. They’re remarkably attractive. You awkwardly wave at them and go sit down at your table.
> 
> They’re a selkie, you 'gave' them back their coat, you now have a gorgeous and besotted selkie spouse. Hey, they don’t make the rules."
> 
> title from [as it was](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7q-4mfl_s4) by hozier.


End file.
